When twelve-year old honor student Stephanie Ann Crowe was in the process of being stabbed and murdered in her bedroom in Escondido, California in January 1998, she probably had no idea that this review would be written. Here's how it happened: Despite having numerous reports from Crowe family neighbors of a mysterious and suspicious transient in the vicinity on the night in question, the police assumed because of Stephanie's fourteen-year old brother Michael's claiming to have passed her room without seeing her dead body in the middle of the night and because of his participation in role-playing games that he must be the perpetrator. He and his surviving sister were put in protective custody and each day he was taken, unbeknownst to his parents, to the police station for questioning. The police used psychological brutality in many forms and finally broke Michael down, convincing him to confess. Two of his friends were eventually implicated as conspirators. Michael had to spend many stressful months in prison but was eventually exonerated. As of the time this review is being written, a lawsuit is being pursued and an adult suspect is being charged. This is an excellent depiction of police misconduct. Although the film doesn't mention it, the fact that Michael's mother, portrayed by Ally Sheedy of Brat Pack fame, is Cheryl Crowe might make many viewers think of Sheryl Crow (note the different spelling), the famous singer of such songs as "All I Wanna Do", "Every Day is a Winding Road", "If it Makes you Happy", "Leaving Las Vegas", "Soak up the Sun" and "Strong Enough". However, most viewers will be probably be more interested in the issues that the film raises. All in all, it's an excellent effort.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Death of A Cheerleader
(1994 TV Movie)
good dramatization of actual events
6 August 2003
When Miramount High School cheerleader Kirsten Costas ran across the street from her front yard in Orinda, California in June 1984 having been fatally stabbed by her schoolmate Bernadette Protti and seeking help from her neighbor she probably had no idea that this review would be written. The way it happened was this: Randall Sullivan of ROLLING STONE Magazine wrote a moving article about the case (focusing largely on Bernadette Protti's dramatic confession to the police) that appeared in print about a year after the murder had occurred and was published with the title "Death of a Cheerleader". The story got such attention that Sullivan was hired to write a screenplay for a made-for-t.v. movie after Protti was paroled, depicting the events fictitiously. It was first aired on NBC as A FRIEND TO DIE FOR, but has also been aired on cable television, both under its original title and under the title of the article that inspired it. In the film, Tori Spelling loosely por- trays Costas as snobby Stacy Lockwood; Kellie Martin loosely portrays Protti as Angela Delveccio and Orinda is replaced with the fictional town of Santa Mira, California. The murder is depicted in the opening scene and the action then reverts to the life of Delveccio over the course of about a year. Although she firsts tries to cover up what she did, the depth and sincerity of the remorse that she eventually expresses are very moving. This film is worth watching several times.
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